Free-standing bags made of plastic foils are known in particular as throw-away packings for beverages, but also for washing powder or the like. Free-standing bags according to the generic clause are described e.g. in German Utility Model G 89 00 883 and also in German Utility Model G 89 00 882. The bottom of such bags is provided with a supporting base so that the bag can be placed on a surface also in its open state, without the contents of the bag flowing out through the discharge opening formed in the upper area and without the bag tilting over. Furthermore, in order to increase the stability, an additional lid element, whose structural design is similar to that of the supporting base, is incorporated between the side walls in the upper part of such bags so that, when filled, bags of this type have a cylinderlike shape.
A fundamental advantage of such free-standing bags is to be seen in the fact that, as long as they have not been filled, they can be folded very tightly and that, consequently, they require only very little space. When filled, they have, however, a comparatively high inherent stability and are thus particularly suitable for use as refillable packings for the media which have already been mentioned hereinbefore.
In the case of the known bags, the discharge opening is realized either in the area of the lid element (German Utility Model 89 00 883) or in the upper part of a side wall (German Utility Model 89 00 882).
In the first case, the discharge opening lies centrally in the middle of the free-standing bag and projects like a pouring spout; however, due to its flexibility, said spout does not always permit a stable discharge of the medium during pouring out, in particular when the medium is being refilled into bottles, so that there is the risk of spilling.
In the second case, i.e. when the discharge opening is formed in the side wall, the free-standing bag must be brought up to the vessel to be filled from the side for transferring the contents of said bag into said vessel, and this may cause problems as well.
It is the object of the present invention to improve the handling characteristics of a free-standing bag of the type mentioned at the beginning when the contents are being poured out and to ensure also greater ease of manufacture.